Australian S2000

[M5]

Can anyone pls put in some links that informs on the championchip ot teams running S2000 in Australia ?

[raybak]

Ford and Toyota running S2000 in Australia. The Ford team is run by Jason Bright's Britek V8 Supercar team with some very good rally people involved, they are building Fiesta's with the help of MSport. Toyota have built an old shape Corolla and Neal Bates will run that until the release of the new shape later in the year when both Neal and Simon Evans will run the S2000 cars.

The only links so far ar http://www.rally.com.au

Ray

[Livewireshock]

Reigning champion Simon Evans will remain in the Gp. N(P) Toyota until the S2000's car has proven it's speed & reliability. Neal Bates will drive a Gp. N(P) that has been converted to S2000 initially until the 2007 body shape car is ready by Round 3 Rally of Canberra, close to the team's headquarters.

Ford will run 2 Fiesta's for Michael Guest & Darren Windus. Hopefully they will be fast straight from the box, unlike the MkIII Escort, sorry I mean RWD Focus.

I may be mistaken but I thought there is some Italian influence or heritage in the Fiestas.

[M5]

The Ford Fiesta S2000 project is interesting - Please keep us posted on websites and Pictures of that car as they appear on Australian Sites !!

[ste898]

Yeh I too will be very interested in any info on the Fiesta S2000 please....

[M5]

Is the plan to have the Fiesta ready for round 1, 31 March ??

[raybak]

Fiesta's will be ready for he first round.

Ray

[sal]

Interesting to see if M Sport use any of the Oz knowledge if they decide to build a Fusty S2000

[aussiefan]

Check out this footage from Toyota's S2000 testing in Australia.

http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=2

[m.lowe]

Is there much difference between the original Toyota Bates car and the newer S2000
Did Bates Motorsport build the new car is is this one from South Africa?

Nice car

[milly]

New Corolla (Auris in Europe) is built by Bates for Australian championship S2000 regulation.

It is not based on SA car - RunX (Corolla in Europe) they had discussions but did not use any technology or ideas from SA.

[datto57]

Check out this footage from Toyota's S2000 testing in Australia.

http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=2

Can't wait to see it (and hear it)live.

If ROM doesn't run, will have to go interstate to see I think.

[Livewireshock]

Check out this footage from Toyota's S2000 testing in Australia.

http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=2

Livery of the Toyota team looks pretty good too.

http://www.rally.com.au/home/features/articleid=2308

[M5]

Any news on the Fiesta ?
Have they started the testing, the 31st is getting closer...

Or will they do this the normal motorsport way; finishing the car the night before the first rally, and just start using it ?? :p

[Rally Hokkaido]

Some news about the Ford team, here.
They have signed a tyre contract with Michelin, though it seems they haven't started testing the cars, yet.


http://www.rally.com.au/home/latestnews/articleid=2327

[Livewireshock]

Any news on the Fiesta ?
Have they started the testing, the 31st is getting closer...

Or will they do this the normal motorsport way; finishing the car the night before the first rally, and just start using it ?? :p

They produced a promo video & released it on Youtube but it only contain footage of the Gp.N(P) Focus with the S2000 Fiestas still under fabrication in the workshop shots. Nothing else has been made public yet.

Can't wait to see what both the Corolla's & Fiesta's are like when I head up to Queensland for the rally.

[Livewireshock]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykcK43qZEeA

Link to Pirtek Ford Rally Team video

[Rally Hokkaido]

Found this photo with another story about the team's tyre deal

[Rally Hokkaido]

OK, here it is

[m.lowe]

One of the Fiesta S1600's came from Italy and had the floor modded and the Engine is from Mountune here in the UK

Anymore pics?

[M5]

Anyone that could give a quick sitrep on how the S2000 cars went in the first round ?

[raybak]

Was very mixed results over the weekend for the S2000 cars with the Toyota having a lot more speed than the Fords. The Fords sounded quicker but didn't have the pace.

Neal Bates came second today after having a few problems on day 1 which put him back in the field. Windus in the 2nd Ford broke the gearbox housing on the start of stage 1, fixed the car for day 2 and set some top 5 times. Guest in the other Ford was on and off the pace all weekend with niggling problems.

Ray

[Livewireshock]

At the end of Heat 2, both Fords have shown good promise with top 4 stage times set by both cars. Darren Windus overcame the gearbox hassles of Saturday to finish today in 5th.

One striking note about the Ford S2000 Fiesta's is their sound. Would not have been a far stretch to think that it was heard in NZ. Michael Guest was idling his car waiting for his turn on the Super Special Stage at Nambour Showgrounds & his car drowned out the noise of the pair of cars preceeding him.

The Ford Fiesta's have a 3" straight through exhaust with a resonator-like-bulge but nothing actually restricting flow or noise at all from the manifold to the tail pipe. Not sure how it passed under the noise limits.

Neal Bates in the Toyota S2000 car was second in today's heat. He was running in second yesterday until he & Coral smelled fuel???? & stopped as a precaution to fix it according to commentary at the spectator point.

[Livewireshock]

Should also point out that two guys from Sadev in France were on hand over the weekend to see how the cars went.

[ste898]

Here is some photos of the stunning S2000 Fiesta

http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_galleria&task=show_thumbs&rID=31&ItemID=29

I was suprised our Autralian friends did'nt tell us about these

[m.lowe]

Built from a S1600 from Italy the team Pirtek Ford Australia have built the new S2000 car for their own series
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/components/com_galleria/alben/31/1175145074_0.33924500__%23_Action.jpg
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/components/com_galleria/alben/31/1175145171_0.54712900__%23_Action4.jpg
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/components/com_galleria/alben/31/1175145107_0.72633200__%23_Action2.jpg

Pirtek team press release
The Super 2000 Ford Fiesta has a bright future after the Pirtek Rally Team made the world debut of the car at the opening round of the NEC Australian Rally Championship, the Coates Rally Queensland.


Darren Windus jumps his way to fifth placeThe highlight of the weekend was fifth pace outright in heat #2 for Darren Windus and Jon Mortimer.

Michael Guest and Mark Stacey were 11th at the completion of leg #1, but were running as high as fourth.

Throughout the event both cars set times in the top five.

A program that was completed in just 18 weeks, including design and construction was without doubt a massive achievement for the team.

After completing just 70 kilometres in pre-event testing on Thursday before the rally, it was not surprising that both cars experienced a range of issues throughout the event. This included a broken gearbox for Windus on leg #1 and power steering failure for Guest on leg #2.

However, under the regulations both cars were able to complete each leg of competition, and score valuable points in the ARC championship.

More importantly was the information gained by the crew to further improve the cars for future events.

"This has been a very good start for the Pirtek Rally Team," said Windus.

"There have been plenty of challenges throughout the weekend, but overall we are very pleased with what we have achieved.

"For me it's been a massive learning experience, as a driver it was a totally new car to get on top of as well as work with a professional organisation for the first time.

"The car is excellent to drive. Along with the team we know there's plenty to come and we are looking forward to making great gains throughout the year."

Michael Guest had no doubt the car has enormous potential.

"We have only scratched the surface with the Fiesta," said Guest.

"The Pirtek Rally Team has the right vehicle, but also the crew to make improvements for the upcoming events.

"For me this weekend was about getting back into a quality all-wheel-drive rally car. I'm sure we can get on top of this car going forward.

"We can look forward with confidence for the next event in Western Australia."

Team owner Jason Bright had plenty of praise for the Pirtek Rally Team.

"I was impressed with the speed of the car, but more importantly how this team met all the challenges," said Bright.

"We expected to have some technical issues with the cars this weekend, but we fully understand what these issues now are and we can work to rectify them and improve the reliability. From that point we can get work on improving the speed.

"Both drivers took the right approach. They were aware that they needed to finish and that has brought a great reward for the team.

"From a personal point of view it was great to see the professional look of the car and team. The sound of the cars is something else and I really enjoyed being part of the event.

"I know that our decision to take on the Pirtek Rally Team Ford Fiesta Super 2000 program was the right one."

The Pirtek Rally Team now heads back to its Melbourne base before taking the long journey across the country to Western Australia for round #2 of the NEC Australian Rally Championship, the Quit Forest Rally outside Busselton on 28-29 April.
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/images/stories/1March2007/ARCnews/Windus.jpg

[Livewireshock]

Darren Windus' Fiesta before the start of Heat 1 - ROQ

For an internal look of sorts

[HaCo]

What is the difference between the winning corolla and the corolla S2000?

[Karbonyl]

The winning car is Gr. N 4x4 prototype, which is allowed only in australian championship (and maybe elsewhere), but the S2000 is built according to international FIA rules for this category, so it can run everywhehe, e.g. APRC or PCWRC. That's all I know :-)

[milly]

Australian S2000 Corolla is apparenetly only homologated regionally - it can't do PCWRC or IRC series.

This is because CAMS (Australian Federation) gave a special homologation different to FIA homologation (fewer kits to be produced), in order to get the Corolla and Fiesta S2000 cars into the Australian series. The Australian series has had problems and this was a move by CAMS to save the series.

[rallyfanbelgium]

We can post the final results off the first rally in Australia.
I see in the first day Darren Windus is 21ste. (gearbox problems)
and the 2ste day he's 5th?
is that a classement par day?
Who can post the final results thanks.

[Livewireshock]

We can post the final results off the first rally in Australia.
I see in the first day Darren Windus is 21ste. (gearbox problems)
and the 2ste day he's 5th?
is that a classement par day?
Who can post the final results thanks.

Yes, each day is a separate heat. Because the Australian championship covers the same geographical area as Europe, it would was considered unfair to competitors from opposites ends of the country to travel at great cost so far & be out with a minor problem early on the first day. Thus ARC introduced the pre-cursor to the Superally system.

The podium though is only given for the entire round, with an extra point to the winner, which combines the results of the two heats. If two drivers have equal points, then a count back is used with overall stage times, stage wins, etc...

Thus the round winner for the Rally of Queensland was Simon Evans(1st both heats), 2nd was his brother Eli Evans (3rd both heats) & third was Brendan Reeves (4th both heats). Thus 2nd place getters on Saturday, Dean Herridge, & Sunday, Neil Bates never got onto the podium.

[Livewireshock]

What is the difference between the winning corolla and the corolla S2000?

Here is a rear view of the S2000 Corolla.

[Livewireshock]

What is the difference between the winning corolla and the corolla S2000?

Here is a rear view of the Gp. N(P) Corolla.

The difference is the Exhaust!!!! :D LOL

Unfortunately was not allowed around to the front end to peer in there.

[HaCo]

Thanks for the reply's. The front grill is different too.

But technically seen, how are they different? Does the N4 has a turbo or a bigger motor or... ?

[Livewireshock]

Thanks for the reply's. The front grill is different too.

But technically seen, how are they different? Does the N4 has a turbo or a bigger motor or... ?

Group N racing has turned into a two horse race, either a WRX or a Lancer, with no other manufacturer able to produce a fast 4WD car. In Australia, local rules were developed to allow to modify an existing car to fit in with Gp. N rules.

Basically the Gp. N(P) car is a Corolla with Celica GT4 internals in order to make it 4WD but still conform along Gp. N standards. Any manufacturer was allowed to use the running gear from another vehicle in their product line to make a competitive car.

Rightly or wrongly, in the name of parity, Toyota have been given slight changes to their original homolgation to be more competitive against the Gp. N Subaru's & Mitsubishi's.

For what ever reason, Ford looked at the rules & thought building RWD N/A car that would be allowed a bigger engine would make them competitive. It was a failure in many ways, at least 200kg overweight & very fragile at times. It was stated this was a learning process before developing a 4WD car.

Inspired by this way of thinking, the FIA then set about creating S2000 regulations but removed the headache of developing the drive train by using a control system made by Sadev. Now the Australian Championship has accepted the international standard of S2000 as the way of the future. Gp. N(P) will not be further developed but will be allowed to compete by Toyota & privateers who have bought them.

[HaCo]

Livewireshock, thank you for your clear reply!!

[HaCo]

No vids of the last rally anywhere?

[HaCo]

It helps if you look for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=neilh13

The sound of the Fiesta is crazy!! :D

[JM]

Some more vids

http://members.iinet.net.au/~asupply2/Video/Guest%201.mp4

http://members.iinet.net.au/~asupply2/Video/Windus%201.mp4

http://members.iinet.net.au/~asupply2/Video/Windus%202.mp4

And pictures from official Ford photographer here:

http://www.inetpics.com/viewfolder.asp?unid=47651

[Livewireshock]

The website for the Ford team is http://pirtekrally.com.au

It is not yet fully functional & live yet though. Still needs some work, for example getting the name of the team right on the page. Currently spelled Pirtex instead of Pirtek for some reason!?!

[Livewireshock]

Australian Motorsport News reported that the Fiesta S2000 cars have been quietened. Newly designed mufflers have been put in place for last weekends Quit Forest Rally in WA.

A measurement of 156db was given for the cars in Queensland, where communication with in the car was hampered by the extreme noise. An interesting figure for all the officials out there.

Was an interesting experience to hear it raw & live as I did though. Good to see that the new change obviously has not robbed the cars of too much power judging by their times.

[Erki]

156db? :eek: Wish I was there, listening to that one! :D Any videos of the car/and of ARC generally?

[ian959]

Australian Motorsport News reported that the Fiesta S2000 cars have been quietened. Newly designed mufflers have been put in place for last weekends Quit Forest Rally in WA.

A measurement of 156db was given for the cars in Queensland, where communication with in the car was hampered by the extreme noise. An interesting figure for all the officials out there.

Was an interesting experience to hear it raw & live as I did though. Good to see that the new change obviously has not robbed the cars of too much power judging by their times.

Love to know where the 156db figure came from - the figure quoted to me was 136db. Anyway, still effing loud... Story I was told was the guy taking the readings in the bush could not hear for ten minutes after the cars passed the measuring point. Would hate to think what it actually sounded like in the car.

They sounded good at Nannup - now all they have to work on is the sway bars for ROC. Interesting site watching the Fiestas do the Busselton Super Special Stage! They really ought to make a road version - awesome looking little beast (and I am no fan of the blue oval).

[HaCo]

ian,

Here you find some videos of Queensland:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Rally+Queensland+2007&search=Search

:D :D :D :D

[Livewireshock]

156db? :eek: Wish I was there, listening to that one! :D Any videos of the car/and of ARC generally?

I do not have the means to convert VHS to my hard drive, but Mark Stacey, co-driver to Guesty could hardly make himself heard over the intercom. He lost his voice trying to shout out the pace note calls. It is plain to see on the coverage.

[Sulland]

Are the Auris' used in Australia and the one used in South Africa build from same spesifications and developed at one of the places, or are they two different and indipendent projects ?

Are anyone of them planning to have them FIA homologated ?

Are any of the teams planning to have an European arm, as Rene Georges Rally Sport is for the SA Polo, and like RED was for the Corolla ?

[TheDogBox]

Sulland, The Australian Auris (marketed in Aus as the Corolla) was developed by Neal Bates Motorsport in-house. They also developed a Group N(P) version the previous generation Corolla which they ran for 4+ years in the Australian Rally Championship up until the end of last year. I think it is still true to say they are running under the regional homologation rules that allows smaller operations to develop S2000 cars without having to meet full international homologation requirements. Have a look around these forums and you'll find plenty of info on the Sth African developed cars.

[TheDogBox]

The following just appeared on rally.com.au: In 2006, the Australian Rally Commission took the decision to embrace the FIA’s new Super 2000 category with the intention of providing the ability for manufacturers other than those producing Group N cars to be eligible. Both Toyota and Ford took that opportunity and developed cars to meet the new FIA rules. 2007 was the first year of competition with these cars, with cars being developed throughout that year. To enable them to compete in advance of their FIA homologation, the Australian Rally Commission has required technical inspections to check the cars are in compliance with the FIA’s technical and homologation regulations. They have been subject of a CAMS recognition which is based on the FIA’s homologation document. The cars must remain in compliance with this document. In November 2007, two senior FIA officials inspected the cars with a view to their homologation applications being presented to the FIA’s Homologation and Technical Working Group. Only minor areas of non compliance were observed and, in the main, were related to paperwork improvements in the homologation document itself. In relation to the Toyota, a minor rear suspension issue was identified and has since been resolved. An issue exists with the firewall design, which is similar to the already homologated (but earlier model) South African car which is subject of an FIA approval. ARCom has authorised this via the recognition document but otherwise no other issue has been identified in either CAMS or FIA inspections in relation to the FIA rules. The Toyota team has been advised of the requirement for this to be resolved and is in the process of doing so. An application to the FIA has been lodged by CAMS regarding the Ford Fiesta homologation and this car is expected to be approved for homologation shortly. The Corolla requires homologation of the base Group A car before an application can be lodged – the Fiesta had already been homologated via the UK Motor Sports Association. The Corolla will continue to compete in the ARC with a CAMS recognition until FIA homologation can be pursued. Initially these homologations will be for the Asia Pacific region and will allow the cars to compete in international competition such as the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship or the WRC events run in this region as well as the Australian Rally Championship. Technically the cars are still required to be compliant with the Super 2000 Rallye rules, but have a relaxation on the number of build ‘kits’ that need to be produced. In every aspect the S2000 cars that have added so much excitement here in the ARC are meeting the same technical regulations as those seen elsewhere in the world.

[HaCo]

There will be a VW Polo S2000 this year, awesome news! Hope this car can beat the Toyota's, they are winning too long now... :)

[Salist]

Has somebody high-resolution pictures from Toyota S2000 cars?

[Livewireshock]

The two Ford Fiesta S2000 could be going for a relatively cheap price soon. Britek, the touring car team that was responsible for Ford's rally program has announced a merger with Stone Brothers Racing for 2009. This means closing their Melbourne workshop and moving to the Gold Coast.

Ford's financial woes has meant big cutbacks to alot of it's racing program including their flagship touring car program in Australia.

I doubt the Fiesta's will go along with them. They are a good car, they were on the brink of overcoming the Toyota's when Ford pulled the plug. Initially developed with a touring car mentality, they were not reliable & robust enough for tough gravel events but by the end of the year, that was turned around. I hope they can find a 'good' home and not have the rediculous price tag placed on them at the start of the year that lacked support for spares etc.

[TheDogBox]

There's a couple of shots from last years Rally Melbourne at: http://flickr.com/photos/brucey66/sets/72157607366992048/ Also, have a look at http://www.michaelguest.com.au which has dozens of shots from 2007. Bruce.

[crunch]

...the "good" home may well be in the Land of the long white cloud for both of them....

[Livewireshock]

...the "good" home may well be in the Land of the long white cloud for both of them....

You mean in the same way a Kiwi bought the previous RWD Ford Focus they had and then gutted it to put the running gear in his old Escort.

Does that mean we could see a 4wd Escort in the Shakey Isles????? LOL

In truth, I hope they just come out of hiding and who ever buys them is able to mount a good campaign with two fantastic sounding and brilliant looking cars.

[Comal]

LWS please don't judge us by what happened to the Focus (have you seen the colour it is now!), the person looking at the Fiesta's is more umm well reputable is that the polite way of putting it Crunch?
Incidently the Focus on it's NZ debut in a blind rally was beaten by a standard N3 Fiesta Sporting Trophy car! Although the Focus is now barely a shadow of what it once was.

[mjh]

There will be a VW Polo S2000 this year, awesome news! Hope this car can beat the Toyota's, they are winning too long now... :)

Does anyone know what happened to Marius Swart and his S2000 Polo? It was out at ROC and Queensland, I don't believe it's been to any ARC rounds since :look:

[Livewireshock]

Does anyone know what happened to Marius Swart and his S2000 Polo? It was out at ROC and Queensland, I don't believe it's been to any ARC rounds since :look:

Been competing in local events close to Queensland is their state championship. I last saw him out at the Border Ranges Rally.

[Livewireshock]

LWS please don't judge us by what happened to the Focus (have you seen the colour it is now!), the person looking at the Fiesta's is more umm well reputable is that the polite way of putting it Crunch?
Incidently the Focus on it's NZ debut in a blind rally was beaten by a standard N3 Fiesta Sporting Trophy car! Although the Focus is now barely a shadow of what it once was.

No offence intended. The Focus was always off the pace and an enigma in what Ford were trying to acheive.

There are a few interested parties looking at the Fiesta's. While the Focus was never looking like succeeding, the Fiesta's were cut down in their prime. Just as they were looking to fulfill their development goals. A line of people wanted to take over the program, but the support package was minmal and overpriced with no real Ford input.

There have been many rumours and a few possibilities about who, what and when. Who ever is looking to buy from NZ, they will have others here ready to match the offer I believe, provided the support package improves or the price has sufficiently fallen.

Alot of people in the Australian rally community would hate to have these beautiful sounding and spectacular to watch cars leave this country.

[Stalks]

Comal may well be correct, but one would wonder if it is reliant on the interested parties selling their current vehicles - one of which is only overpriced by about 35%!!!

Anywho, looks like you Aussies might see some more of Guy Wilks too with the recent Subaru WRC news.
Interesting to hear that the contract of screwing some Honda's together for the APRC was left wanting after PBMS were too busy to take it on...... must be too busy with '08 cars for Motor Image, amongst others.

[Tom206wrc]

Autotek with a 207 S2000 in 2009 ???? :confused:

[Tom206wrc]

Autotek with a 207 S2000 in 2009 ???? :confused:


Sorry I made a confusion with british team Autotek Motorsport...nothing to do :mark:

[Stalks]

Crunch has gone pretty quiet? Word is that the 2 x Fiesta's are a bit further away than you thought......

[Comal]

Crunch may have gone quiet on the forums, but we both know he will be scheming something somewhere with someone!

[crunch]

Ahhhh, Mr Stalks and Mr Comal...whoever you gentlemen may be.

The purchase is progressing well, and is NOT reliant on selling the current stable of vehicles. As for the overpriced comment..."cheap" shot!
Hopefully all will be finalised before Christmas as I have to get a new suit measured up with appropriate logos and need to warn Chicane to get enough material in for me....

My Christmas wish is NZRC in an S2000 and APRC in a Evo9.......and I been wishing real hard and been a real good boy, ask me' mum!

[Stalks]

Ahh Crunchie, good luck!

I seem to recall (and no doubt Comal will remember also), it wasn't that long ago on another forum that you seemed to have no idea what a S2000 car was (even confusing them with the local SS2000 curcuit racing class), stating at the time that there were 'no plans to allow them to run in NZRC in the foreseeable future', and yet here you are asking the jolly fat man for one!

And PS, thanks for confirming who the prospective buyers are. It was just a punt.....

[Stalks]

Crikey Crunch, did the man in the big red suit let you down?
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3350&Itemid=2

[Francisco]

These are not high resolution pictures but I thought I would be interesting for all to know that we have a Toyota S2000 built by Australia (neal bates) in a joint venture with Toyota Paraguay running in Group N with a special authorization of the local ADN.

Hope you also enjoy some of the youtube links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0qNZFaw8PA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86Km9xRpRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-4dxx4jWVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zERKIK_rdU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aINH96oeTk8

Alejandro Galanti, participated a couple of years ago in the jwrc on board a ford puma.

Bye.

[Rally Hokkaido]

It seems that the Australian-built Corolla (Auris) will finally receive FIA homologation
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4003&Itemid=2

[HaCo]

Would that Aussie WRC star be Atko?

[Rally Hokkaido]

Mmmm. That is possible, though I think it would be more likely to be Michael Guest. He ran and drove for the Hyundai team when they first entered WRC and was one of the drivers in the Australian Fiesta S2000 project.

[Camelopard]

Mmmm. That is possible, though I think it would be more likely to be Michael Guest. He ran and drove for the Hyundai team when they first entered WRC and was one of the drivers in the Australian Fiesta S2000 project.

Highly unlikely unless Guest has a lot of money, it's all purely speculation, ask Ray B. He would probably have more of an idea.


I was thinking that it would be cool to put Simon Evans in the car, he has the experience with the Toyota and probably the money to run the event.

[raybak]

I will let you all know once i do some digging :)

This homologation has taken for ever. I know Neal has got the paperwork side of it all done so will be interesting to see if they have to make any changes.

Ray

[Camelopard]

Any truth to the rumour that Neal has been given the ok by Toyota to run Rally Oz?

[macksrallye]

This is a total stab in the dark but with the Raymond's selling their Grp N(P) car are they gonna drive Neal's S2000 (provided its FIA Homologated by then) in Rally Oz so they can have a go at the Pirelli Star Driver thing?

[bf1_IRL]

Looks like the Corolla has a PWRC scoring chance :D
http://www.rallybuzz.com/rally-australia-entry-09/

[Livewireshock]

Saw Stewart Reid enjoying his little taste test of his S2000 Corolla on the Border Ranges Rally at the start of the month. From what I hear, he is deeply impressed by the car and also enjoyed the Kyogle Shire roads on that event.

Nice to see Toyota Australia and Carsguide.com get onboard to support these two cars for RRA.

[katxal]

anyone knows Stewart Reid result on Border Rangers Rally?

[Livewireshock]

anyone knows Stewart Reid result on Border Rangers Rally?

Here are the results.

[katxal]

Here are the results.

thanks a lot!

[NRC]

"AFTER a long battle of rule interpretation, the FIA is to homologate the Toyota Auris Super 2000 car just in time for Repco Rally Australia, two years after the model was first used in Australia and South Africa in national level competition.

Two of the cars have been entered for Rally Australia, to be driven by Neal Bates and Stewart Reid.

The difficulties arose because FIA rules say that only one Super 2000 design based on the same basic model can be internationally approved. In the case of the Auris, the designs of competition versions rallied in South Africa and Australia are slightly different and the FIA sought ways to enable both designs to be acceptable.

The June World Motor Sport Council meeting gave approval for cars produced in different locations to be jointly considered for homologation reasons. The final solution was that the South African car will be given international approval, the Australia car given permission only to compete in Asia Pacific regions.

Toyota South Africa’s Senior Motor Sport Manager William Haddad said "in reality it has all been a technicality, the difference between the Super 2000 cars was always slight and some recent changes in design to the rear suspensions have made these even fewer".

Neal Bates, who has been responsible for developing these cars in Australia, said "I just won’t believe it’s finally happening until we start Rally Oz! The uncertainty has been a nightmare for us".

It remains to be seen what will be the official name of this car, whether it is to be internationally know as Auris or Corolla!

The original model Corolla Super 2000 only appeared once on a World Championship event, the 2006 Wales Rally GB, in the hands of Alister McRae."

[Grant_RSA]

i wanted to make sure of my facts, but the above confirms the South African Auris having been homologated a while ago...

Interesting that a "dual" homologation will be given...

Toyota Auris won round 6 of the SA national championships this last weekend, in the hands of Johnny Gemmel and Peter Marsh..

[Tazz]

The SA Auris homologation inspection was two weeks ago....

[Grant_RSA]

Once again i learn something new :-)